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Thursday, September 20, 2012

The Story of One

“I never look at the masses as my responsibility; I look at the individual. I can only love one person at a time - just one, one, one. So you begin. I began - I picked up one person. Maybe if I didn’t pick up that one person, I wouldn’t have picked up forty-two thousand ... The same thing goes for you, the same thing in your family, the same thing in your church, your community. Just begin - one, one, one.” - Mother Teresa of Calcutta

In the first post, “Welcome”, I wrote that one of the goals for this blog is to give our readers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into AWBA. As you choose to be served or to serve through AWBA in some manner, it is important to know what is beneath our surface so that you come to know us.

This week, I want to share with you about our Board of Directors. Some of you may have board experiences that are not particularly favorable - meetings that exceed the intended time limit, a sense of non-productivity for the time invested, board members who do not seem genuinely glad to be present, board leadership that lacks focus and purpose -- you get the idea. Then there are those experiences such as my own last night, and that seems representative of how our monthly meetings unfold. I leave energized and affirmed from the discussions. I may return home with a very long to do list, but that is a good thing!

We close and open our meetings with blessing and prayer. Last night, we were led into a blessing time by one of our members who shared a writing by Mother Teresa of which the above is an excerpt. Oh, how I love these words and this image I found today of Mother Teresa surrounded by a crowd and intently focused on the One in her hands. Thank you Deb for this offering.

You are our “One.” When people hear our mission “to provide spiritual care for caregivers and those living with chronic disease”, I am often reminded that this is an awfully large net we have spread for ourselves. As I hear the stories from those who reach out to us, and from those with whom I am in regular contact, I can easily become overwhelmed with the abundance of stories held in this net that is AWBA’s place of service. Yet, at the same time, when I hear a story of One, I am right there with the individual. I hear the details. I hear the specifics of their unique journey. And, in that moment, I am again captured and encouraged for what we are about. AWBA will do a workshop, an event, an offering for whomever shows up in need of support and nourishment. We see AWBA growing one by one by one.

I am grateful for a Board of Directors charged with maintaining daily operations and keeping a firm grasp on our future while simultaneously being unified in the value of the Story of One. In a culture obsessed with how many are buying a product, attending the seminars, sitting in the pews, hitting a website, etc., I do believe that as we focus on the One, the numbers and resources will take care of themselves.

AWBA’s is blessed with a gifted, passionate, compassionate, focused, and energetic board. Stop by to learn more about them at www.myawba.org/aboutus.php. They are the wings of Always We Begin Again.